NCSoft and Smilegate Take MMO Publishing In-House as Amazon Exits Gaming

South Korean developers NCSoft and Smilegate are ending their publishing partnerships with Amazon Games and moving toward directly operating their major titles for international players, the companies announced August 13, in the latest sign of Amazon's retreat from gaming.

Back in-House

NCSoft said it plans to move global service for its MMORPG Throne and Liberty to an in-house operating system by the end of this year, with players on its Purple platform, Steam, PlayStation and Xbox expected to operate within an integrated global environment. Smilegate is ending its publishing arrangement with Amazon and will take direct responsibility for operating Lost Ark — which launched in North America and Europe through Amazon Games in February 2022 — beginning in early 2027, with a long-term goal of releasing the same content simultaneously in Korea and the West. Both developers said the changes will allow faster updates and closer coordination between development and operations, with existing player data preserved through the transition.

Amazon's Gaming Pullback

The splits come as Amazon Games continues to divest: its MMORPG New World is scheduled to end service in January 2027, a planned Lord of the Rings MMORPG has been canceled, and Amazon has backed out of publishing several other titles while directing substantial resources toward AI infrastructure. After the transitions, Amazon's remaining commitments center on Tomb Raider titles and party games for its Luna cloud gaming service.